PCC is a martial arts and strength and conditioning studio focusing on athletic development and fun movement for people of all skill levels. Home of Diamond Heart Muay Thai/Jiu Jitsu and Odd Object Playground.

Hey Folks!! We are really excited about this upcoming workshop with Jason C Brown from Kettlebell Athletics!

For those of you who are not familiar with Jason, He is one of the the top educators in the coaching field and has worked with many high level big box gyms as well as smaller boutique fitness studios to teach coaches and staff ground breaking interactive methods of play based training and movement.

He and Coach Gavin have been friends for several decades and have both worked together to develop and educate coaches.

This will be the 1st time that his “Art of Play” series workshop will be presented in the area and he is stoked to be doing it at PCC.

These methods are interactive and perfect for martial arts formats and we are used to working with training partners on a regular basis and these concepts will definitely expand the size and capability of your training toolbox.

He is offering this workshop at a super affordable price and we encourage all members to sign up and take advantage of this opportunity to expand your knowledge and capabilities.

This is something I borrowed from my friend Mike Mahler at Live Life Aggressively

He is a constant source of great information about hormone optimization and keeping your strength values up. He is also a strict vegan who has done a ton of quality research in order to bring the best knowledge about keeping strength, fitness, and cardio levels optimal while living that lifestyle.

If you are not familiar with this man I urge you to get acquainted and gain from the wealth of awesome information that he willingly shares.

Understanding how to keep your hormone levels in check will not only benefit your trining but also add to the quality of your everyday life.

Please check this out!!

SEVEN MORE TIPS TO IMPROVE TESTOSTERONE LEVELS AND OVERALL HEALTH

Poor digestion is one of the main reasons for a poor hormonal profile including low testosterone levels. If you have poor digestion you fail to extract optimal nutrition to energize an optimal hormonal profile. Eating quickly often leads to poor digestion so slow down and take your time instead of using the vacuum cleaner technique at meals. Probiotics and ginger also help with gut issues and in turn improve digestion. Systemic enzymes also improve digestion by lowering inflammation. Systemic enzymes

Optimal levels of zinc and magnesium are crucial for optimal testosterone levels and an ideal testosterone to estrogen ratio. Zinc is an aromatase inhibitor and magnesium increases DHEA and free levels of testosterone. Hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds are both high in zinc and magnesium. In addition black beans and cacao are also loaded with magnesium. The best supplement for magnesium and zinc is my recovery oil. Recovery oil

Every time you have a poor night of sleep you miss out on an opportunity to produce testosterone, improve insulin and leptin sensitivity, and keep cortisol in check. Read for a few hours before bedtime to fatigue the mind and improve sleep quality. Watching TV for a few hours before bedtime has the opposite effect. The Holosync meditation program is also a fantastic option to listen to before bedtime Meditation program

One effective method to improve leptin and insulin sensitivity (both are master control hormones that affect other hormones such as testosterone and GH) is to take longer stretches in between meals such as 5-6 hours. This will also improve digestion and fat loss as well. Have a balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates and you will be satiated for many hours.

Selenium is an important mineral for optimal testosterone levels. Just one brazil nut has bout 50mcg of selenium and1-2 brazil nuts per day will supply optimal selenium levels for most .

According to anti-aging expert Dr. Thierry Hertoghe, a high consumption of alcohol, coffee, and tea causes prostate hypertrophy by excessively increasing estrogen levels. In my opinion no more than four cups of coffee per day should not be an issue and the same goes for tea. As for alcohol, if you have low testosterone and high estrogen levels, you should cut out consumption 100% until the issues are resolved. Alcohol converts testosterone to estrogen and has a negative impact on insulin sensitivity. Moreover, alcohol has a tendency to make men very emotional and have illusions of grandeur as well. For insurance against estrogen dominance use EC Estrogen Control

In martial arts and most athletics in general, mobility is key. Improving ranges of motion will for allow for better velocity on your striking and increased positional ability in grappling.

When we think about mobility we always tend to think in terms of shoulders and hips but we tend to neglect a missing link situated right in between those 2 locations.

T-spine or Thoracic spine

The thoracic spine is the longest region of the spine, and by some measures it is also the most complex. Connecting with the cervical spine above and the lumbar spine below, the thoracic spine runs from the base of the neck down to the abdomen. It is the only spinal region attached to the rib cage.

Your rib cage acts as the base of support for your shoulder blades. Your shoulder is inherently unstable as it’s only bony attachment to your body is at your sternum. Therefore, there are a lot of muscles (17 to be exact), that attach to your shoulder blade to keep it stable and attached to your body. As with any appendage in the body, you want to promote proximal stability for distal mobility. Meaning that if you want to be able to throw a punch or kick to a good end range of motion or to be able to bridge an opponent of of you with optimal power improving you T-spine mobility will help in both of these situations.

Thoracic mobility and it importance in striking

As we understand the human body works most optimally while generating torque and rotation through a spiral pattern. In striking the power is generated from the floor through the feet generating to the hips, then shoulders. More times then not we tend to neglect a very important step in this mechanism, that being the thoracic spine which similar to a drive shaft from a transmission to power the wheels to move. Improving this range of movement will not only add to the improvement of the required rotation of that action but will also decrease the level of compensation that might effect posture during the end range of that movement. This will increase your movement efficiency and allow for increased work output as certain compensations are deleterious to form that allows increased output.

For example, You’re throwing a cross (backside straight punch) and you’re t-spine mobility is shortened or you are simply un aware of it’s function in this. In order to hit the target you will have to lean past your base making throwing the next punch in the combination less effective but also increasing the amount of effort you are using per strike. You are more likely to get fatigued then an athlete who has a more efficient movement pattern while striking.

On top of this, a lack of proper form will decrease the amount of power in your strikes.

Thoracic mobility and its importance in Grappling

Let’s take the use of this to the ground.

Bridging is a very important skill in Wrestling, Jiu jitsu, and Judo. Being able to generate power to sweep or get an opponent out of a dominant position is extremely important and again we are talking about a ballistic rotative movement that we are generating power from the floor and through the body in order to efficiently complete this task.

Lack of mobility and again lack of movement awareness in the T-spine can make this a difficult and daunting task. The hips my fire but without proper rotation through that mid spine we will not be able to make the optimal amount of space required to hip escape and get out from underneath our opponent.

Remember, We are not looming to launch the person on top straight up but at an angle allowing us to recompose our position to one that is better in the positional hierarchy ( from being stuck in full mount to half guard to example).

Mobility exercises and movements that increase T-spine mobility

Starting with extension- Using a foam roller place it mid spine facing the ceiling.

Feet flat on the floor with your knees bent, lacing your fingers behind your head and bring your elbows together in front of you and take a deep inhale, as you open your elbows out to the side exhale and allow your mid spine to arch back letting your head drop towards the floor. You should start to feel a little muscular tension in your upper back at the end range of motion in this. Do this for 10 to 15 repetitions.

The best stretch in the world!!!!-

Called “ the Pinwheel” or the “dragon lunge” we use this on a regular basis in our Odd Object Playground Movement prep.

Starting in plank position with your heals together and hands directly under your shoulders, step you left foot directly outside of your left hand. From hear taking you left hand reach toward the ceiling keeping your eyes on the left hand and letting your “spine follow your eyes” and pressing firmly into the floor with your right hand reaching through your left finger tips and inhale. At this point bring your left elbow to wards the floor as close to the inside of your left foot as possible then reaching back to the ceiling inhaling deeply while doing so. Repeat this for 3-5 times on each side. This is in itself an amazing tool and active stretch for warming up.

Upper body 90/90-

Laying on your left side keeping your knees together and drawing them up to your chest extend both hands directly in front of you out with the left arm on the floor and the right arm on top with your palms together. Exhaling,Taking your right arm reach first toward the ceiling and then behind you trying to touch the floor with the back of your right hand then return to the starting position. Be sure to keep you knees high to your chest to make sure the movement is coming from the T-spine and not the hips.

Power moves

Half kneeling medicine ball throws- One of our favorites!! Setting up next to a wall in a half kneeling position right knee on the floor and left foot flat on the floor. Left foot should be on the side of the wall with a lighter Med ball (2-8lbs is sufficient) keeping the ball close to your chest and rotating away from the wall drive your right shoulder back toward the wall and release the ball. Catching the ball on the rebound repeat this 10 to 15 reps per side adding in some alternating one hand planks with this can make it a really awesome and challenging core training session combining both ballistic rotation and stability.

The Turkish get up-

This is a stable for us at PCC. It is a complex carry that we teach regularly and is a required movement for all of our competitors. It requires muscular endurance, alignment, and mobility. At this point I will state that we are not going to write a full description of the movement as we would rather that you come to class and learn it in the most power application in order to really understand it so that you can keep it in your tool box. There are few movements that deliver results in the way this does.

Rope pulley-

Another tool the we use on a regular in the OOP classes that utilizes both tis pine mobility and power. On top of that it’s a hell of a metabolic tool that is fun, safe and challenging.

Grabbing the rope with you left hand as close to the the pulley mechanism as possible drive your elbow past your torso ,Think about putting it in your same side back pocket bringing you left thumb to your chest and reaching up the rope with your right hand grab on and do the same. Repeat for 15-to 25 repetitions making sure to maximize the rotation through the mid spine and keeping your feet planted and square for this version of the exercise.

Wrapping it up

In closing we encourage you to explore what we have brought forward hear in order to improve not just your time in the gym but to improve your life outside of it. Increased Thoracic mobility will have an effect on everything from exercise patterns to breathing patterns so we absolutely welcome question on this topic if you care to reach out to us and as state these concepts are things that we steadily employ in our Odd Object Playground class which is 6 days a week in our schedule. We invite you to come and be a part of it so that our coaches can help you to improve on what ever your goals are.

Movement preparation, also referred to as a dynamic warm-up, involves moving in a variety of directions at different speeds to help activate the tissues along with the nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems responsible for controlling and fueling movement. Movement preparation can be an effective and functional way to prepare the body for a neurologically, and physically challenging training session.

Performing a warm-up at the start of an exercise session:

Increases circulation, which moves oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the involved muscles

Elevates tissue temperature so that muscles can rapidly lengthen and return to their starting shape

Turns on the sensory receptors of the central nervous system responsible for identifying position changes in the body, which is essential for determining the appropriate motor response

Elevates the levels of hormones and neurotransmitters responsible for providing energy during a workout.

Rehearses movement patterns in slower, controlled tempos before adding resistance or moving at a fast speed

Otherwise prepares the body for physical activity

Movement preparation exercises are an effective pre-workout warm-up because they move the body in all directions and involve a number of different muscles and joints. For best results, a movement preparation warm-up should start with exercises that focus on stability of the lumbar spine along with mobility of the hips and thoracic spine, while gradually increasing the level of intensity to allow tissue temperature and circulation to increase. Here are five ways that movement preparation works as an effective pre-workout warm-up strategy:

Joint capsules and ligament endings contain numerous sensory receptors that measure and identify pressure, movement and rate of movement of their respective joints. Slow, controlled movements through a complete range of motion allows the nervous system to learn how to regulate the degrees of freedom allowed in each individual joint.

Muscles are comprised of two different kinds of tissue: the contractile element of the actin and myosin proteins and the elastic component of the fascia and connective tissue, which surrounds every muscle fiber down to the most microscopic level. Muscle and fascia contain sensory receptors that sense tension, length change and rate of length change. Movement preparation exercises engage the sensory receptors in both the contractile and elastic tissues to fully involve the central nervous system and prepare it to control the muscles used in the workout.

As muscles lengthen, the muscle spindles sense the rate of length change and communicate with motor neurons to initiate muscle contractions. Movement preparation exercises increase nervous system activity within muscles, making them more effective at producing powerful contractions during exercise.

Multiplanar movements at a variety of rhythmic speeds increase heat in the body. As body temperature elevates, muscle and fascia become more pliable and capable of lengthening and shortening at faster rates of speed.

Reciprocal inhibition refers to the physiological action that occurs when the shortening or contracting of one muscle sends a signal to its functional antagonist (the muscle on the other side of a joint), which allows it to lengthen. The controlled contractions during movement preparation exercises use the principle of reciprocal inhibition to allow muscles to lengthen and prepare for activity.

An effective movement preparation sequence involves all of the foundational movement patterns of exercise: lunging, squatting, pushing, pulling and rotating. Start with slow, controlled movements and gradually progress to challenging, fast-paced multidirectional movement patterns. The body can take at least eight to 12 minutes to fully warm up. Therefore, setting aside the proper time for a complete movement preparation sequence can help ensure your client’s workout is a success.

All of our Odd Object Playground classes include a comprehensive, challenging , and fun movement prep component. We always encourage our members to keep the concepts they learn in the classes so that they have useful tools that they can utilize when ever they need where it is at PCC/DiamondHeart MA or when ever traveling or visiting another facility.

If you were looking for the 2 perfect movements that would not only burn a larger amount of calories, scorch fat, build muscle, boost your endurance, and would also improve your posture and help keep you from getting lower back pain—you’d need to look no further than the The Turkish Get Up (TGU) and Russian Kettlebell (KB) Swing.

First lets look at what the Russian KB swing brings to the table:

1) Increased power

To properly do a kettlebell swing, you’ll need hip drive. Being able to use your glutes (that’s yer butt) and hamstring muscles in order to propel the bell along its path dynamically. In all forms of athletics, strengthening this movement pattern will give you the advantage of being able to quickly activate, creating power to move fast.

2) Increased aerobic capacity

KB swings used in moderate to high repetition will give your pulmonary system an incredible workout. Studies have shown that this kind of training will help to increase your VO2 levels.

Simply put, if your heart is able to supply blood more efficiently to your body, then your body will recover and perform more optimally. This has an incredible benefit to your overall well being, allowing you to regain a sense of ease quicker when recovering from stress.

3) Better muscular endurance

Muscular endurance is your ability to generate sub maximal muscular contractions for extended periods of time. Moderate to high reps of KB swings will add to your muscular endurance.

Increased muscular endurance will allow you to do more for longer periods of time. When you can apply this idea to your favorite athletic activities in and out of the gym, it means being able play even longer (and who doesn’t like that???).

Be sure you are doing these repetitions with good form and technique. This helps promote proper body mechanics that apply to other facets of movement including good spinal health.

4) Full body training

More bang for your buck!!! This movement is amazing for its overall effect on the body. Everything is employed when you learn to utilize the KB swing efficiently and safely.

Now let’s take a look at the benefits of the Turkish Get Up or TGU…

1) Full body exercise

Let’s start where we left off… Bang for the Buck!!! The TGU is what I consider a “Complex Carry”. It is a full body exercise that promotes cross lateralization (getting the right brain to work with the left side). It promotes upper and lower body stability while simultaneously developing upper body, trunk, and hip strength.

2) Challenges balance and coordination

Something that always seems to get overlooked in training is the stimulation of the vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems.

Some of us might remember spinning in circles as a child or playing on the playground merry go rounds til we were dizzy.

Activities such as these help these systems to develop. Their importance to our general homeostasis, which is the tendency of the body to seek and maintain a condition of balance or equilibrium within its internal environment, even when faced with external changes. These systems play an underlying role throughout our lives, and have sometimes an even greater impact as we age.

3) The TGU as a “corrective” exercise

In the modern day we see a lot of systematic maladies do to the lack of movement and through an increased sedentary population.

Work place ergonomics play into this in a big way by sitting daily at a computer (or just sitting). If we can use this movement to get our members and clients moving better and pain free, increasing their ranges of motion, than we are damn well going to!

Studies using the TGU to rehab injuries in the shoulder, hip and torso have shown to have amazing benefits to patients not only getting them back to their previous fitness levels, but have shown to increase those levels in the process.

In the martial arts and sports training community, the use of the TGU as an “injury preventative” has become a standard amongst coaches who are aware of the importance of bolstering the musculoskeletal system helping athletes to limit chances of injury during combat and ballistic sports.

“If you wanna get strong, pick stuff up off the ground, lift stuff over your head, and carry stuff around”

~Dan John

There is not a single situation in life where being strong is not an advantage. Although martial arts is based in the concepts that a smaller athlete can overcome a larger athlete with technique, the basic fact is that when two equally skilled athletes are paired, the stronger athlete will come out ahead in the end.

Strength allows us the ability to help others, to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Strength brings resilience and vitality to the quality of our everyday lives.

As the saying goes, strong people are harder to kill!

Come to our Odd Objects Playground classes to learn these exercises and more. Check the schedule for current class times.

Recovery was once an often overlooked factor in athletic development and training.

Many coaches and athletes will push to high levels of intensity in the gym and on the training floor but once out of that surrounding we need to refuel, recover, reset ourselves for our next training session.

We need to start understanding that the human body is an intertwined number of subsystem that each play there own important roles in our performance, recovery and overall longevity. Targeting the recovery of only the muscular system will leaving the rest of the system in a training deficit and over time lead to problems.

The human performance system is broken down into:

-Musculoskeletal

-Nervous

-Cardiovascular

-Digestive

-Respiratory

-Cognitive

-Endocrine

-Exocrine

-Immune

-Renal

A stronger and more comprehensive approach to movement and recovery put this integrated model into play, Keeping in mind each subsystem that all combined complete one super system.

Each of these subsystems hold influence upon the other in our ability to manage and strengthen both outputs of performance and the recovery from it.

The primary shift in thinking needs to step away from the outdated mode of thinking that everything starts and stops with the muscular system and begin to work towards and adopting a more integrated concept that includes all of the subsystems with in this framework.

We need to apply a more global view of how the body works in recovery as opposed to the outdated segmented recovery concepts. In other words to start looking at this as a collection of cohesive systems which are interconnected an working together.

Once we have made that mental paradigm shift , the next step is to understand that all of the subsystems play a role and are important but one of them is what should be considered the foundation that everything else rest upon.

Breathing and it’s obvious “and not so obvious” importance

when it come to optimizing movement and recovery, the of the most crucial pieces of the performance puzzle, proper breathing mechanics are paramount.

Respiration is the most underutilized and overlooked aspect in recovery which is ironic because it is the foundation that allows all of the other systems to thrive.

If your respiration isn’t normalized, it is hard for the other systems to follow suit.

If your breathing is out of whack then it will effect the other systems in a similar fashion.

Get your breathing right and you will have a good platform to build and develop all of the other systems upon in order to build a solid symbiotic amongst them and optimized your movement and recovery.

From a movement and recovery standpoint this should be obvious.

If you aren’t breathing effectively and efficiently , can you really expect to perform well in an activity where the most basic requirement is the effective utilization of oxygen.

The mechanical effects of airflow, and how it can detract from or enhance movement cannot be overstated.

With sub-optimal breathing patterns, posture and movement quality are compromised, leading to less efficient movement during exercise or competition which will obviously have a depreciating effect on the level you will be able to perform at.

Breathing influences movement patterns, posture, pain, as well as performance by altering the position of the musculoskeletal system, Causing restriction of airflow leading to the under inflation or hyperinflation of your lungs, thus creating a mechanical barrier that limits movement.

In short and in a very real way, being able to move optimally during performance and exercise comes back to the ability to breathe effectively.

Recovery is affected in a similarly detrimental way. To truly get a grasp on optimal recovery we need to think past the muscles and look to the nervous system.

The recovery of the nervous is a powerful influencer in regards to regaining the capacity to provide output to the movement system. But it also must be considered baed on its impact on the behavior of any number of subsystems that can allow these local adaptations to occur as well as our ability to maintain health.

If Your nervous systems chronically fatigued, it won’t matter how “effective” of a training or condition ing program you are following, results will be suboptimal due to the “trickle down” effect that will occur.

For instance, A strongly, rigid, less adaptive nervous system has broad spectrum consequences that may promote similar reductionist the ability of other systems.

If the autonomic system is overtaxed and remains sympathetic dominant , an excess of stress hormone circulation may delay the ability of energy restore mechanisms be effective.

This could lead to digestion being interrupted, which in turn will limit the necessary energy and nutrient absorption.

Keep the human movement/performance system is a network of interconnected parts that react to one another.

Being “Sympathetic dominant “ reduces the immunes systems ability to manage inflammation promoting the inability of soft tissue to hypertrophy or adaptively reconstruct.

This in tun may lead to the degeneration of tissues such tendons which may eventually lead to injury.

In simplest terms, the more “sympathetic dominant” your nervous system is due to being overtaxed, overstressed and fatigued the less efficient your body and its systems will be at facilitating movement ( your performance during both training and competition will be below what they should be) as well as being less capable of facilitating the recovery process after training meaning you will be walking around in a low level state of fatigue that will escalate over through the period of your training program leading to possible sickness and injury.

The more stress that is placed on the body , the greater the demand on the nervous system. Things that can contribute to an overtaxed nervous system include:

- Poor sleep habits

-Persistent health issues

-Lack of necessary nutrients due to poor dietary choices

-being hyper-driven, “Never quit” type of person

-Physical training/ Conditioning (exercise is a stress on the body)

-Poor breathing patterns

Obviously, Addressing each of these environmental and behavioral aspects of stress is important but if we were to establish a “hierarchy”, understanding and developing better breathing patterns would take priority.

In terms of recovery, Proper breathing can shift the nervous system from its stressed sympathetically dominant state toward a more restorative , recovery based, parasympathetic state. The focus here is: In order to move optimally during exercise and competition your nervous systems need to be in check.

You can train respiration just like you can any muscle or component of health and fitness. Over time, the consequences of an overtaxed nervous system can be altered in a favorable manor by working on and developing better breathing mechanics.

With practice, as part of an effective movement and recovery program, a subject may be actually able to enhance recovery between repeated bouts of activity and training to maintain performance levels as well as to improve their ability to recover better from a health and long term perspective.

3 breathing exercises to can try

Bear breathing

-position your self on all four on the floor

-Hands should be directly below the shoulders and knees directly below the hips

-Push long through the arms as if to push away from the floor until you feel a stretch between your shoulder blades

-elevate knees off the floor until shins are horizontal to the floor

-hold this position as you take 3-5 full breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth

-relax and breath normal for a few seconds

-Repeat and perform 3-5 repetitions

Wall Breathing

-Standing with your back against a wall place your feet at hip width and about 10-12 inches from the wall.

-Posteriorly tilt the pelvis to flatten the lower back against the wall

-Reach forward maximally with both hands allowing upper back to round forward.

-hold this position as you take 3-5 full breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth

-relax and breath normal for a few seconds

-Repeat and perform 3-5 repetitions

Forearm Plank Breathing

-Lay face down on floor.

-Place your hands below you face palm down on the floor such that they form a diamond with your index fingers and thumbs.

-Push through the forearms and push the shoulders forward to lift the chest and abdomen upward off the floor until weight is only on the forearms and pubic bone.

-Hold the upward position and perform 3-5 full breaths, in through nose out through mouth.

-Return to starting position

-Repeat and perform 3-5 repetitions

These breathing exercises can be used at any time weather it be warm up , cool down , or as an active rest between sets or exercises if there is adequate time.

They can even be used at home upon getting out of bed or pre-bedtime or pre and post meditation if you follow that practice.

Try to incorporate a couple of these into your daily routine and you’ll quickly feel the difference.